ARCHIVED - Telecom Commission Letter - 8622-R11-200514936

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Letter

Ottawa, 6 July 2007

File No.: 8622-R11-200514936

BY E-MAIL

Ms. Dawn Hunt
Vice-President
Government & Intercarrier Relations
Rogers Wireless Inc.
333 Bloor Street East
Toronto , Ontario
M4W 1G9

dawn.hunt@rci.rogers.com

Dear Ms. Hunt:

Re: Voicecasting to Wireless Subscribers - Part VII Application by Rogers Wireless Partnership dated 6 December 2005

On 6 December 2005 , Rogers Wireless Inc. (RWI) filed a Part VII application seeking an order prohibiting the use of "voicecasting" on local exchange carriers' networks that deposit unsolicited voice communications in the voice mailboxes of customers of wireless services or wireless competitive local exchange carriers.

T he Commissions issued Proceeding to establish a national do not call list framework and to review the telemarketing rules , Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-4, 20 February 2006, as amended by Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-4-1, 13 March 2006 (PN 2006-4) inviting comments on many issues which included among others, whether the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) rules should apply to "voicecasting" calls.

By letter dated 4 October 2006 , Commission staff advised RWI that the Commission would dispose of RWI's above noted application once a decision has been issued in respect of the proceeding initiated by PN 2006-4.

On 3 July 2007 , the Commission issued Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules framework and the National Do Not Call List, Telecom Decision CRTC 2007-48, (Decision 2007-48), which established a framework for the National DNCL and the rules governing the requirements and restrictions for use of the list by telemarketers.

In Decision 2007-48, the Commission defined voicemail broadcast [1] to be a type of telecommunication whereby a recorded message is delivered directly into a voice mailbox without interrupting the voice mailbox subscriber's activities in real time.

In Decision 2007-48, the Commission concluded, among other things, that the National DNCL Rules would apply to telemarketing telecommunications via voicemail broadcast.   The Commission considered that this would alleviate the undue inconvenience or nuisance of telemarketing telecommunications via voicemail broadcast, including the inconvenience experienced by consumers as a result of having to spend time managing their voice mail to handle such telecommunications as well as incurring undue expenses to retrieve voicemail broadcast telemarketing telecommunications messages.

In Decision 2007-48, the Commission noted the proposals that telemarketing telecommunications via voicemail broadcast be prohibited to wireless subscribers.   The Commission agreed that telemarketing telecommunications via voicemail broadcast could cause particular nuisance to wireless subscribers due to the costs these subscribers may incur to retrieve their voicemail messages.   The Commission considered, however, that since wireless telecommunications numbers may be registered on the National DNCL, the application of the National DNCL Rules to telemarketing telecommunications via voicemail broadcast would ensure that consumers who use wireless telecommunications services would be able to effectively prevent such telecommunications.

In view of the Commission's findings in Decision 2007-48, RWI's application dated 6 December 2005 is closed.

Yours sincerely, 

'Original signed by L. Fancy'

Lynne Fancy
A/Director - Competition Implementation and Technology
Telecommunications

[1]         Voicemail broadcast was previously known as "voicecasting" which is a commercial name for a voicemail broadcast marketing service provided by Infolink Technologies Ltd.

cc:

By E-Mail :

Public Interest Advocacy Center , piac@piac.ca ;
Infolink Communications Inc., ccorreia@infolinkca.com
Saskatchewan Telecommunications, document.control@sasktel.sk.ca
Ontario Consumer Credit Assistance, info@occa.ca
Mark Obermeyer, mobermeyer@cogeco.ca
Phil Rittenhouse, prittenhouse@sympatico.ca
Barry Baxtrom, bbaxtrom@rogers.com

All LECs and Wireless Carriers registered with the CRTC and Parties to Telecom Decision CRTC 2004-65 :

bell.regulatory@bell.caregulatoryaffairs@nwtel.caregulatory.matters@aliant.cadocument.control@sasktel.sk.caregulatory.affairs@telus.comreglementa@telebec.com ; telecom.regulatory@cogeco.comandrew@isptelecom.netJohnP@mountaincable.on.caregaffairs@quebecor.comjesse@vianet.caregulatory.affairs@telus.comregulr@bmts.com ;   reglementaire@maskatel.qc.cadocuments@accesscomm.caataylor@personainc.caalain.duhaime@sogetel.comian.stevens@execulink.compdowns@nexicom.netnatalie.macdonald@corp.eastlink.cajboutros@globility.caregulatory@distributel.casteve@wtccommunications.carroy@ivictelecom.comRegulatory@sjrb.cagrubb@hurontel.on.carbanks@mornington.caiworkstation@mtsallstream.com ; Tiffany.schell@rci.rogers.commlaurent@cooptel.qc.cakcollins@corporate.fcibroadband.commandrews@amtelecom.catim.deweerd@quadro.netpgillis@dryden.cagosfield@gosfieldtel.comgrubb@hurontel.on.cadmccaffrey@kenora.comwagrier@1000island.net ; steve@wtccommunications.caroxboro@ontarioeast.netsachuter@tcc.on.cajpatry@telcourcelles.qc.canantel@tellambton.nettelvic@telvic.nettelstep@telstep.netpaul.frappier@telmilot.comnantel@tellambton.netpdowns@nexicom.netpdowns@nexicom.netpwightman@wightman.caregmat@ntl.sympatico.caa.schneider@hay.netalain.duhaime@sogetel.comregulatoryaffairs@nwtel.caregulr@bmts.comj-fmathieu@telupton.qc.cay.brunelle@telephonelabaie.qc.careglementaire@maskatel.qc.canicole@puc.netamedeo.bernardi@ontera.calisa.marogna@citywest.carambacher@amtelecom.carroy@ivictelecom.comnfrontenac@kw.igs.netrob.olenick@tbaytel.comjonathan.scott@execulink.comjnlesther@hotmail.com ; rosedaleeast@yahoo.ca ; cmckenzie@irvingmitchell.com ;

nking@freemasonry.org

By Mail :

Jason McCarty
8010-420 Central Avenue
London , Ontario
N6B 2E7

Date Modified: 2007-07-06
Date modified: